


Budding Reason

by Oliver__Niko



Series: Sylvain Week 2020 [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Light-Hearted, Studying, Sylvain Week (Fire Emblem)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24507790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oliver__Niko/pseuds/Oliver__Niko
Summary: Annette is helping to tutor Sylvain and Felix in their budding talents in Reason. Sylvain especially is making exceptional progress, proving he is far more than simply his Crest.
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic & Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Annette Fantine Dominic & Sylvain Jose Gautier, Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Sylvain Jose Gautier
Series: Sylvain Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1770871
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	Budding Reason

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a little friendship fic I wanted to write for day 2 of Sylvain Week! For the prompt, 'Budding talents/class changes.' I hope you enjoy.

An exhale of breath, hands reaching into the air. They close, open. Trying to connect sense of touch to the image in his mind. Ignoring the books sprawled out on the grass around them, knowing he doesn’t need excess information being given to his mind; all he needs to focus on is the here and now.

A sense of heat courses through his palms to his fingertips. His eyes close. Brow furrowing harshly. _Come on, come on, come_ on … There! The familiar growing heat, now radiating from his skin. His eyes shoot open. But no sooner than when he sees the flame between his hands, he’s distracted by his own brilliance and Annette’s shout of, _“_ Oh my Goddess, you did it again!” does the flame extinguish.

“No, come back!” Sylvain groans. “Damnit.”

“That was amazing, Sylvain.”

“Shut it, Felix. I don’t see you doing much better.”

Felix grumbles, hands brought closer to himself with eyes full of concentration. “It was there before, little bits of electricity.”

“You’re both doing brilliantly,” says Annette. “Steady progress is better than none!”

The trio are currently sat within shade beneath the sun, shielding themselves from the increasing heat of early Garland Moon. Part of Byleth’s strategy in teaching their students is allowing them to sometimes work on their weaknesses. There are skills one might usually not consider, after all, that can combine with their strengths and preferences to only increase their prowess on the battlefield.

It turns out that Sylvain and Felix share the same budding talent in Reason. Alongside their usual studies, they have now been given tutoring on the subject, as well as given tasks to work on in their spare time.

Annette, always so enthusiastic and a talented mage herself, took it upon herself to assist without even being asked.

“You’re right, and I think I’m genuinely getting closer,” says Sylvain, glancing down at his hands. He lets out a sigh. “Who knows how all the ladies are going to react when they realise I’m excellent at both wielding weapons _and_ magic?”

“Weapons, except from bows,” says Felix.

“I don’t need a bow to shoot into ladies’ hearts.” Sylvain gives an exaggerated wink, laughing when Felix rolls his eyes. “Really though, this is great. Let me just read over this again, and I think I might be even closer.”

He scoops up a book, bringing it closer to himself. Annette smiles to herself. Leaning back, eyes glancing between the two childhood friends. Competitiveness is good for them, it seems; Felix wanting to overcome his weakness to not be overtaken by Sylvain, and the latter, usually so much more lax in comparison to his friend, given a sense of thrill and pride in finding something else he can enjoy and compete with Felix in.

It’s genuine as well, as Sylvain’s eyes scan the pages of the book he reads. He’s clearly doing this for far more than simply impressing the women of the monastery. The man who was given a Crest he didn’t ask for, only to find himself excelling in skills that do not require it, wielding weapons and magic because he himself wants to. There’s a satisfaction in that. Living for yourself, proving that you’d be the same with or without a Crest.

This is all him, no one else, no matter the insecurities and shame his older brother has instilled in him.

“All right, I think I’m ready.” Annette and Felix watch as Sylvain gets to his feet. The former claps her hands together, jumping up herself.

“You’ve got this, Sylvain! Show us who’s boss!”

Sylvain grins at her, giving her a thumb’s up before his face is once again etched in concentration. A deep breath, calming his mind, grateful for how even Felix chooses to silently watch. He feels it. Rising his hands, conjuring the correct sigils, the heat in his hands greater than ever.

His hand shoots out, and he has a smile from ear-to-ear when a fireball erupts from his hand and collides with a target positioned a couple of metres away.

“ _Yes!”_ Annette shouts, bouncing on the spot. “You did it!”

“Not bad,” says Felix.

“Not bad at _all,”_ says Sylvain. He stares down at his hands as though they hold all the secrets in the world. “Should I do it again? I didn’t break the target.”

“Don’t push it too much,” answers Annette, “ _but_ you so should.”

“Bet you can’t break it,” says Felix. A smirk tugs at his lips when Sylvain playfully glares at him; it’s clear that he’s only trying to urge Sylvain on.

And it’s exactly what he needs; the second spell is even stronger than the last, successfully breaking the target into a dozen pieces. Sylvain’s clenches his fist in front of him, letting out a laugh.

“Goddess, this feels awesome! I don’t like it as much as using a lance, but still …”

“Still enjoy it?” says Annette.

“Totally.”

“I need to speed up.” Felix writes something down on a piece of paper, eyes deep in concentration again, and Sylvain cannot help but smile.

“Say, if you learn Thunder, we can try training with magic.”

A pause of Felix’s pen. It scratches faster against the paper. “This is getting easier by the day. I’m sure I could beat you with magic as well.”

“We’ll see about that!” Sylvain sits back down on the grass and, after a moment of contemplation, lays back with his arms above his head. “Think this has earned me a break.”

“Only a little one,” says Annette, Sylvain waving his hand in the air.

“Sure, sure.” A pause, before he adds, “You’re awesome, Annette.”

“Huh?”

“We’re thankful for you helping us,” says Felix, eyes still fixed on his book as his hand is held out to his side, pressing his fingers together to conjure little shocks of lightning. “You don’t have to do it, yet here you are, even with how irritating Sylvain is. That’s something to be proud of.”

“Can you not compliment her without insulting me?”

“Oh, it’s no bother, really.” Annette grins sheepishly, tucking strands of hair behind her ears. “I get to brush up on my own Reason too through helping you both, after all! And it’s exciting to see you both make progress.”

“Still, thank you.” Sylvain hums in thought to himself, tapping his foot against the ground. “You know, this has got me thinking about what I want my goal to be.”

“It does?” says Annette.

“I think so. Like … imagine how cool it’d be to become a Dark Knight.”

“Ooh, that _would_ be awesome!”

“Would suit you,” says Felix in agreement.

“Awh, guys.” Sylvain scratches the back of his head. “I’m still not really sure. There’s quite a few things I like and I think I’d be happy with several different goals, you know? But I might have a look into it, maybe talk to the professor and see what they think.”

“No matter what you choose, we’ll cheer you on,” Annette grins.

“And make you hurry up and get back to work.” Felix nudges Sylvain’s leg with his foot. “Lay around too long and I’ll surpass you before you know it.”

Sylvain sighs dramatically, sitting up and reaching for a book. “Only because the smile on the professor’s face will be _gorgeous_ when they see how much I’ve grown.”

Perhaps the reason why Annette and Felix can both smile in amusement is because they know Sylvain doesn’t truly mean it; his eyes are bright when he returns to his studying, lit by the joy of accomplishment and gratification.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also posting art for this week @/nikobynight on Twitter! Feel free to come find me there.


End file.
